VOLUME 15 ISSUE 33

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AUGUST 23RD, 2019 – AUGUST 30TH, 2019

VOLUME 15 - NO. 33

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US CONCERNED ABOUT HUMAN & SEX TRAFFICKING IN HAITI, DR by Hayden Boyce Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

T

he State Department of the United States of America has raised concerns about human and sex trafficking that is taking place in the neighbouring countries of Dominican Republic and Haiti. In its recently-released 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, the State Department noted that both countries (which have large populations in the Turks and Caicos Islands) did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The report stated that human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in the Dominican Republic, and traffickers exploit victims from the Dominican Republic abroad. The State Department which prepared the report using information from U.S. embassies, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, said Dominican women and children were sex trafficking victims throughout the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, adding that foreign national victims from the Caribbean, Asia, and Latin America were trafficking victims in the Dominican Republic. Experts noted an increase in the number of Venezuelan trafficking victims in the Dominican Republic since the onset of Venezuela’s economic and political crisis. According to the report, the Dominican Republic is a destination for sex tourists primarily from North America and Europe, who target Dominican children for child sex trafficking. Sex trafficking of 15- to 17-year-old girls occurs in streets, in parks, and on beaches. “Government officials and NGOs report an increase in traffickers recruiting Colombian and increasingly Venezuelan women to dance in strip clubs and later coerce them into sex trafficking,” stated the report which covers the US government’s efforts undertaken from April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019. “Traffickers lure Dominican

Manager of Marketing and Public Relations, Nikira John Consultant Cardiologist, Dr. Himanshu Shukla and Director of Sports Jarrett Forbes

TCI Hospital donates automated external defibrillator to TCI Department of Sports By Todeline Defralien

InterHealth Canada - TCI Hospital presented an automated external defibrillator (AED) to the Turks & Caicos Islands Government

Department of Sports, on Thursday, August 22nd at the Gustavus Lightbourne Sports Complex in Providenciales. The Hospitals visiting Consultant Cardiologist, Dr.

Himanshu Shukla made the official presentation to athletes during a basketball camp. Comment on the importance of an AED, Shukla said, “We started this program with Continued on page 2

women to work in nightclubs in the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America and subject them to sex trafficking. Dominican officials and NGOs documented cases of children forced into domestic service, street vending, begging, agricultural work, construction, and moving illicit narcotics,” the document revealed. “ There are reports of forced labor of adults in construction, agricultural, and service sectors. Haitian women report smugglers often become traffickers for the purpose of sexual exploitation along the border, and observers note traffickers operate along the border with impunity and sometimes with the assistance of corrupt government officials who accept bribes to allow undocumented crossings. Unofficial border crossings

remain unmonitored and porous, leaving migrants, including children recruited to work in the agricultural and construction sectors, vulnerable to trafficking. NGOs report police complicity in areas known for child sex trafficking.” In relation to Haiti, the State Department said human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Haiti, and traffickers exploit victims from Haiti abroad. 286,000 HAITIAN CHILDREN IN DOMESTIC SERVITUDE Most of Haiti’s trafficking cases involve children in restavek, who often are physically abused, receive no payment for services rendered, and have significantly lower school

enrollment rates. It was noted that a December 2015 joint government and international organization report found that one in four Haitian children do not live with their biological parents and an estimated 286,000 children younger than age 15 are in domestic servitude. It was also stated that a significant number of children flee situations of domestic servitude and become homeless. “Female foreign nationals, particularly citizens of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labor in Haiti,” it was revealed.

Conserve Energy & Save!

Continued on page 2

Install energy-efficient compact fluorescent or LED bulbs. They give off less heat and use as much as 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs. Further information and energy conservation tips are available on our website: www.fortistci.com

www.fortistci.com | 649-946-4313


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